lucrative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lucrative
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English lucratif, from Middle French, from Latin lucrātīvus “gainful,” from lucrāt(us) “profited” (past participle of lucrārī “to make a profit, gain by economy”; see lucre) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Use lucrative to refer to a business or investment that makes money. While your parents might want you to pursue a lucrative career, you're committed to your plan of becoming a professional mime. This adjective is from the Latin word lucrum, meaning "profit." In Latin, lucrum also meant "greed," a negative sense preserved in the English phrase filthy lucre, or "shameful profit or gain." But the word lucrative doesn't carry a similar sense of shame — if your lawn-mowing job proves lucrative over the summer, you might be able to buy yourself a used car.
Vocabulary lists containing lucrative
Grade 10, List 2
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Hidden Figures
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Fast Food Nation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Naung Yoe, meanwhile, told the BBC that "these practices are escalating due to increasing difficulties in meeting monthly recruitment quotas and the lucrative financial profits made from recruit trading at the ground level".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Gabriel Perez, an aide who operated Trump’s teleprompter, recently left the administration after revelations that he placed lucrative bets on the prediction market Kalshi based on the content of the president’s speeches.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
As the U.S. and Europe also boost spending, spectrum warfare has become one of the most lucrative fields for Western defense companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
But Cuomo had also built a lucrative career in the private sector after leaving the governor’s office.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
On behalf of IOI, I wish to make you a highly lucrative business proposition, the exact details of which we can discuss in a private chatlink session.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
